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Communication  o 

Conf  Pam  #421 


MESSAGE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 


Richmond,  Ya.,  Feb,  8,   1861. 

To  the  House  of  Representatives  : 

In  response  to  your  resolution  of  the  ISth  ultimo,  I  herewith 
transmit,  f^r  your  information,  a  coininunication  from  the  Secretary 
of  War,  relative  to  the  "  domestic  pas'^port  system  "  now  enforced 
upon  citizens  travelling  in  some  parts  of  the  Confederate  States  out- 
side of  the  linos  of  the  armies. 

JEFFERSON   DAVIS. 


COMMUNICATION    OF    THE    SEOKETARV    OF  WAR. 

Confederate    States  of  Amckica,  ^ 
4         War  Department,  ^ 

Richmond,  Va.,  Jan.  27,  1864.  ) 
7\)  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States  : 

Sir  :  The  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  requesting 
the  President  "to  communicate  any  orders  or  reguhitiotis  establish- 
ing a  domestic  passport  system  for  citizens,  whether  men  or  women, 
travelling  within  the  Confederate  States,  outsiile  the  Hue  of  any  army, 
the  authority  under  which  such  orders  and  regulations  are  made,  and 
the  number  and  compensation  of  the  officers  ami  men  empl  )yed  in 
enforcing  such  system  of  domestic  passj  orts,"  has  been  referred  by 
you  to  this  department  for  reply. 

The  files  and  records  of  this  department  have  been  examined,  and 
no  orders  or  regulations  are  to  be  found  estabishing  cr  regulating  the 
system  of  passports  now  in  use.  The  resolution  of  tho  House  of 
Representatives  has  been  referred  to  Brigadier  General  W  inder  for 
his  report  upon  the  origin,  progress,  and  present  condition  of  the 
system,  and  for  copies  of  any  orders  under  which  it  has  existed,  and 
for  a  statement  of  the  number  of  persons  employed,  which  report  is 
herewith  returned. 

That  report  shows  the  manner  in  which  the  system  was  introduced 
into  Richmond,  and  the  causes  which  led  to  its  further  development 
in  this  city.  In  other  cities  and  towns  of  the  Confederacy,  it  has 
been  under  the  control  and  direction  of  the  military  authorities,  and 
its  supervision  has  been,  commonly,  entrusted  to  provost  marshals. 


2 

Its  development  through  the  country  was  probably  due  to  the  procla- 
mations for  ths  suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  providing  measures  to  restrain  stragglers  and  deserters,  to  pre- 
vent intercourse  and  communication  with  the  enemy,  and  to  detect 
spies  and  persons  in  the  employ  of  the  enemy  from  collecting  infor- 
mation to  the  prejudice  of  the  Confederacy. 

In  order  to  accomplish  this  object,  the  habit  of  requiring  all  per- 
sons to  obtain  passports  became  general,  and,  with  all  its  inconve- 
ii'ences,  has  been  productive  of  beneficial  consequences  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  these  objects. 

This  department  has  no  report  of  the  persons  employed  in  the 
offices  of  the  provost  marshals. 

Such  offices  are  generally  established  with  a  view  to  the  police  of 
their  commands  by  the  generals  commanding  departments,  at  the 
leading  cities  and  towns  therein,  or,  in  some  few  instances,  at  the 
request  of  citizens,  by  the  department,  at  posts  where  there  are  hos- 
pitals and  depots,  for  the  better  police  aroun  1  them.  Since  no  appro- 
priation is  made  for  provost  marshals,  they  consist  of  officers  with 
commissions.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  this  department  to  select 
for  such  posts  officers  disqualified  from  active  service  by  wounds  or 
disease,  and  to  aid  them,  as  far  as  necessary,  to  detail  disabled  sol- 
diers. Such  policy  will  be  studiously  pursued,  and  its  observance 
urged  on  the  attention  of  depavmental  commanders.  The  few  detec- 
tives or  civilians  occasionally  found  necessary  are  paid  out  of  the 
appropriation  for  the  contingent  expenses  of  the  army. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

.      JAMES  A.  SEDDON, 

Secretary  of  War. 


Headquarters  Dfpartment  of  Henrico,  } 

Rk'  rtrond,  January  26,  18G4.      ji 

Hon.  James  A.  Seddon,  Secrdary  of  War : 

Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  submit,  in  obedience  fo  orders,  the  report 
of  Major  E.  Griswold,  Provost  Marshal,  upon  the  subject  of  the 
passport  sysreni  of  this  Dt'partmerit,  with  accompanying  papers,  called 
for  by  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representaiives. 

Very  respectfullv,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  H.  WINDER,  Brig.dier  General. 


Provost  Marshal's  Office, 
Richmond,  January  22,   1864. 

Brigadier  General  John  H.  Winder, 

Comrnanding  Department  of  Henrico  : 

General:  In  regard  to  the  accompanying  resolution  of  tlio  House 
of  Representatives,  of  the  date  of  the  12th  instant,  and  the  endorse- 
ment of  the  Secretary  of  War  thereon,  I  have  the  honor  to  state, 
that,  having  been  assigned  to  duty  in  this  city  as  provost  marshal, 
(under  whose  charge  the  pa-sport  oflSJe  is  placed,)  on  the  oth  of  May, 
1862,  I  have  no  personal  knowledge  of  the  orders  and  regulations 
establishing  a  (louiestic  passport  system.  I  found  it  in  full  operation, 
I  have,  however,  procured  and  communicate  the  fallowing  information 
as  to  the  oi-igin  of  the  system  in  this  city.  When  the  Government 
was  transferred  to  Richmond, and  the  army  was  at  Manassas,  applica- 
tions to  the  then  Secrecary  of  War,  Hon.  L.  P.  Walker,  were  fre- 
quently made  by  officers  and  citizens,  having  relatives  in  the  army, 
for  passports  to  the  army;  and  it  w^s  commoc,  also,  for  citizens,  desi- 
rous of  going  to  different  sections  of  the  Confederacy,  to  ask  for 
passports  to  facilitate  traveling,  passing  pickets  and  guards,  and,  as 
a  certificate  of  localty  through  the  country,  then  sensitive  in  regard 
to  the  status  of  all  strangers. 

These  applications  became  so  frequent  that  a  clerk  was  assigned  to 
that  duty — first,  fr  a  short  time,  Mr,  Sheppard — and,  afterwards, 
Mr,  J,  B.  Jones,  now  in  the  war  office,  who  states  to  me,  in  writing, 
**  that  the  origin  of  the  passport  office  consisted  merely  in  a  verbal 
order  from  the  first  Secretary  of  War,  and,  subsequently,  I  (Mr. 
Jones.)  was  requested  to  take  charge  of  the  office  by  the  same  Secre- 
tary, in  August,  1861,  Afterwards,  I  was  continued  in  charge  of 
the  office  by  Hon.  J.  P.  Benjamin,  Secretary  of  War,  and  continued 
in  charge  until  I  received  an  order  from  the  A(1juranc  Geiieral, 
(General  Cooper,)  to  discoatinue  my  duty  in  that  office.  Martial 
law  had  been  proclaimed  a  few  days  previously.     Subsequently,  I 


received  an  oHer  from  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  "War,  Mr.  Benjamin,  to 
act  under  the  instructions  of  Brigadier  General  Winder." 

This  is  the  statement  of  Mr.  Jones  in  writing.  He  also  informs 
me,  verbally,  that  these  orders,  except  that  irom  the  Adjutant  Gene- 
ral, were  ve>bcd,  and  that,  up  to  the  time  of  the  declaration  of  martial 
law,  the  passport  system  was  not  compulsory,  but  a  very  large  pro- 
portion of  citizens  voliintsirily  applied  for  and  received  passports. 

After  the  declaration  of  martial  law  in  the  city  of  Richmond  and 
its  vicinity,  (which  declaration  appears  in  Gencal  Orders,  No.  9,  A. 
and  I.  General's  office,  March  1st,  1862,)  Brigadier  General  Winder 
being  commandant  of  the  department  of  Henrico,  and  Mr.  Jones 
passport  clerk,  the  following  order  w^as  issued: 

''Headquarters  Department  of  Henrico,  } 

March  4,  1862.       \ 
**  GENERAL  ORDERS, 

No.  3. 

'•  By  virtue  of  General  Orders,  No.  9,  Adjutant  and  Inspector 
General's  office,  March  1st,  1862: 

<<  T  *  *  *  ■*■  *  *  * 

*'  II.  The  passport  office  is  continued  at  its  present  location, 
under  the  charge  of  the  provost  marshal." 

At  this  time,  to  maintain  martial  law,  a  provost  guard  was 
statiopt^d  in  the  city,  and  at  the  different  railroad  depots  and  other 
exits  from  »he  city. 

On  the  6th  day  of  March,  1862,  and  on  the  17th  day  of  March, 
1862,  General  Orders,  Nos.  4  and  9,  were  issued  from  the  department 
of  Henrico,  prohibiting  the  passing  beyond  the  corporate  limits  of  the 
city  by  any  coave3'ancj  or  vehicle  without  a  passport. 

These  orders  were,  at  the  times  of  their  date,  published  for  the 
information  of  ciiizens  at  large,  and  recognized  by  the  Secreta- 
ries of  War  in  conferences,  verbal  orders  and  written  directions  of  a 
temporary'  character,  such  ;:s  orders  "to  suspend  all  passports"  on 
certain  roads,  "  the  transportation  being  occupied  in  carrying  troops." 

Before,  however,  the  declaration  of  martail  law,  and  while  obtain- 
ing passports  was  not  compulsory,  the  practice  became  general  to 
procure  them.  In  what  ways  the  system  originated  in  other  parts  of 
the  Confederacy,  I  am  unable  to  state,  other  than  it  followed  the 
declaration  of  martial  law,  wherever  declareed.  This  department  has 
no  control  of  the  s\stem  beyond  the  limits  of  the  department. 

In  reference  to  tnat  portion  of  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, calling  f^r  "  the  number  and  compensation  of  the  officers 
and  men  employed  in  enforcing  such  system,"  so  far  as  regards  this 
city,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  a  copy  of  the  report  made  to  you  on 
the  I8ih  instant,  upon  the  call  of  the  Confederate  States  Senate,  and 
here  maiked  '"•  A,"  adding  thereto,  that  a  guard,  not  more  thaji  five  at 
any  one  train,  with  a  hou-commissioned  officer  are  placed  at  the  depots 
of  the  diff'erent  railroads  to  inspect  passports,  and  prevent  any  one 
leaving  who  has  not  a  passport. 


In  regard  to  that  portion  of  the  endorsement  of  the  Secretary  of 
War,  upon  the  rosoliition  of  the  House,  calling  for  "  the  p:  ogress  and 
present  condition  of  the  system,"  so  far  as  regards  the  office  in  Rich- 
moml,  I  report,  that  there  uie  issued  'rom  the  passport  office,  daily,  an 
average  of  one  thousand  three-  hundred  and  fifty  passports.  At  rimes 
it  reaches  ii  much  latgor  number.  Th6  p-issports  are  signed  hy  a 
clerk,  appointed  for  that  puipoi^e,  and  b}'  uivself.  They  are  then 
delivered  to  a  commissioned  officer  in  charge  of  the  clerks,  (detailed 
for  light  duty  by  reason  of  disability,)  who  receipts  for  them  and 
distributes  them  to  the  clerks  taking  their  receipts,  and  "vvhen  the 
clerks  are  relieved  from  luty  by  others,  they  account  for  all  passports 
issued  and  cancelled,  and  return  those  not  issued,  a  report  of  which 
is  dail;y  made  to  rao,  and  daily  compared  with  the  receipts. 

On  account  of  the  large  number  of  passports  issued,  it  was  found 
necessary  and  conilucive  to  dispatch,  as  w£ll  as  exactitude,  tb  assign 
one  clerk  to  each  of  the  main  roads.  These  clerks  are  divided  into 
squads  which  relieve  each  other.  There  is  also  an  apartment  for 
issuing  passports  to  women  separate  from  that  for  men.  There  are 
office  hours  named,  but  the  office  is  never  c'osed  in  the  day  nor  at 
night,  as  long  as  any  applicant  remr.ins  in  the  vicinity  of  the  office 
desiring  a  pasnport. 

Sometimes  afiplicants  come  after  the  office  is  closed  at  night,  who 
were  not  present  when  it  closed;  these  arc  disappointed.  Un  occa- 
sions the  crowd  is  so  great  that  it  is  impossible  for  all  to  find  access  to 
the  office  in  tiaie  for  the  train  they  take  to  leave  the  city.  On  one 
occasion,  recently,  when  the  office  had  been  kept  open  till  half- past 
one  o'clock  at  night,  for  the  accommodation  of  furloughed  soldiers, 
it  was  closed  before  all  were  acnoramodatcd,  because  word  was  sent 
that  the  transportation  office  was  closed,  and,  without  access  to  both 
offices,  applicants  could  not  leave  the  city;  but,  generally,  both  offices 
are  kept  open  as  long  as  there  are  any  furloughed  soldiers  to  go. 

A  register  is  kept  by  each  clerk  of  ever}'  person  who  obtains  a 
passport,  and  the  voucher  or  authority  upon  which  it  is  obtained, 
filed.  Cases  are  daily  occurving  where  deserters  and  persons  with 
fraudulent  papers  are  thus  arretted.  In  this  connection,  1  beg  to 
refer  to  my  report  made  to  you,  by  your  order,  of  date  the  l.)th 
January,  1833,  at  the  call  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  in  regard  '*  to 
the  policy  of  abolishiug  the  passport  system  in  whole  or  in  pan," 

When  the  present  hiw  of  Congiess,  sulijecliiig  to  conscription  all 
who  had  subtiitutes,  was  pn.sstd,  and  the  orders  of  tfie  Adjutant 
General  were  published,  I  called,  by  your  directi  :n,  upon  Colonel 
Preston,  in  chirgeof  the  bureau  of  conscription,  aud  ai ranged  with  him 
a  rule,  by  which  all  citizens  of  Vnginia  having  substitute i  and  calling 
for  pusaports,  should  report  themselves  first  to  the  enrolling  officer; 
and  all  citizens  of  other  S  ates  sh')uld  re;(Ort  to  the  coii>cript  bureau 
and  obtain  a  certificate,  a  duplicate  of  which  should  be  filed  iu  the 
pa^spoit  office,  as  the  voucdier  .or  a  passport. 

This  rules  does  aot  in  any  way  trench  upon  ihe  privilege  they  h  .ve 
under  the  law  to  volunteer,  &c.,  but  securci  their  names  and  resi- 
dence to  the  conscript  officers,  and  prevents  their  going  to  any  locality 


beyond  the  reach  of  conscription.  Por  a  short  time  after  the  pasBage 
of  the  present  law,  this  Department  having  no  sufficient  number  of 
guards  or  pickets  to  prevent  an  escape  to  the  United  States,  numbers, 
with  fraudulent  passports  and  others  with  no  passports,  pushed  for 
the  Rappahannock,  and  obtained  comparatively  easy  exit  at  its 
numerous  feiries.  Fearing  this  result,  while  the  law  was  under  con- 
sideration and  afterwards,  this  department  asked  for  additional  ofBcers 
to  be  placed  at  these  ferries.  The  Secretary  of  War  took  m^ii'-ures 
to  stop  these  escapes,  directing  Major  General  Elzey  to  have  the 
roads  and  ferries  picketed,  and  requiring  all  passports  in  that  direc- 
tion to  be  approved  at  his  headquarters. 

Believing  this  covers  the  whole  ground  of  inquiry,  so  far  as  regards 
the  passport  system  here, 

I  am,  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

E.  GRISWOLD, 
Major  and  Provost  Marshal. 
Official  : 

JOHN  H.  WINDER, 

Brigadier  General. 


Provost  Marshal's  Office, 
Richmond,  Jan.  15,  1863. 

Brig.  General  John  H.  Winder, 

Commanding  Department  Henrico  : 

General:  Of  the  policy  of  abolishing  the  passport  system  in  whole 
or  in  part,  I  report  as  requested,  such  opinions  as  my  experience 
suggests. 

That  the  system  is  obnoxious  and  trenches  odiously  upon  personal 
liberty,  there  is  no  question,  and  that  it  should  be  abolished,  unless 
sternly  demanded  by  the  exigencies  of  the  War,  and  the  safety  of  our 
cause,  there  is  no  doubt. 

Its  operation  includes,  of  course,  the  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor, 
the  loyal  and  disloyal,  and  is  attended  frequently  with  vexatious  de- 
lays, and  sometimes  with  questionings  and  interviews,  wounding  to  the 
ac-lf- respect  o''  worthy  and  good  citizens. 

It  is  just,  however,  to  say,  that  much  of  the  complaint  it  occasions 
arises,  not  so  much  from  any  intentional  disrespect  on  the  part  of 
officials,  as  from  the  offended  pride  and  dignity  of  those  inaccustomed 
to  such  restraints,  and  who,<e  conscious  integrity  or  high  position, 
makes  the  interruption  and  questioning  offensive.  Nothing,  however, 
can  e>cuse  or  justify  this  interruption  of  personal  liberty,  but  the 
sternest  exigencies  of  the  Fervice. 

I  have,  therefore,  carefully  endeavored  to  devise  some  expedient  to 
avoid  the  difficulties  which  must  arise,  without  the  check  which  pass- 
ports impose. 

Only  a  few  days  experience  in  this  office  will  convince  any  one  that 
■without  passports,  desertions  from  our  armies  would  increase  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  be  truly  disastrous.  Nothing  could  prevent  the  sol- 
dier, who  desired  to  do  so,  from  putting  on  citizens'  dress  and  return- 
ing to  his  home  or  going  where  he  choose.  Now  a  passport  must  be 
obtained,  every  person  whose  age  subjects  him  to  military  service 
must  give  an  account  of  himself,  must  produce  his  discharge  or  evi- 
dence of  substitution,  &c. 

The  clerks  at  the  passport  table  are.  familiar  with  the  forms  and 
authority  of  furloughs,  leaves  of  absence,  sick  leave,  discharges,  ^c, 
&c.  In  most  instances  they  can  verify  the  handwriting  of  the  officers 
signing  them,  and  if  a  ease  of  doubt  arises,  it  is  referred  to  me  or 
is  sent  to  the  proper  department  to  ascertain  if  the  signatures  are  gen- 
uine. Nor  must  it  be  supposed  that  efforts,  even  now  with  this  check, 
are  few  to  evade  service  or  to  desert.  Daily  forged,  illegal,  informal 
and  unauthorized  furloughs,  sick  leaves  &c.,  are  presented. 

This  effort  to  avoid  service,  in  a  vast  many  cases,  does  not  arise 
from  disaffection  to  the  cause  or  want  of  courage.  Far  from  it.  Very 
many  earnest  patriots  who  would  not  hesitate  to  shoulder  their  muskets 
and  volunteer  in  a  fight,  and  who  would  peril  their  lives  for  the  cause, 


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